Shannon Tweed

"Oh, yeah, I do movies; I forgot. They see them on TV. I forget that anybody knows me." - Shannon Tweed

Shannon Tweed is the best known actress of the "Erotic Thriller" genre. She has appeared in over 50 movies (mostly straight-to-video), was Playmate of the Year in 1982, and is currently living with Gene Simmons from the band KISS.

SEX APPEAL

The sexy actress was born in 1957, yet still kicks the pants off girls 20 years her junior. As much as we still question her decision to be with Gene Simmons, for him to have settled for Shannon Tweed over the thousands of other potential suitors says a lot about Shannon's incredible appeal. We can all admit it; we didn't exactly suffer through one of her movies for her acting.

SUCCESS

Shannon Tweed is a veteran of classic movies that have moved hearts and changed the world. Among these work of arts are: Dead by Dawn, Human Desires, Indecent Behavior, Illicit Dreams, Twisted Justice, Lethal Woman and of course Meatballs III. Why oh why didn't she receive any Oscar nominations?

For those of you that are still asleep, the previous statement is an example of the Art of Being Sarcastic, or the tone of a person from France when referring to American culture.

In her defense, it wasn't all straight-to-video work; she had some respectable gigs on Falcon Crest, Days of Our Lives, Married With Children, Baywatch, 21 Jump Street and a short-lived show on CBS called Fly By The Night. She also recently did Detroit Rock City a movie that followed a bunch of young kids on their way to see their favorite band KISS (any surprise she was asked to be a part of the movie).

Shannon Tweed Biography

Shannon Lee Tweed was born March 10, 1957, in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. The daughter of a mink rancher, Shannon is the third oldest of seven siblings, one of which is her older sister, actress Tracy Tweed.

Shannon has Playboy to thank for her rise from obscurity -- okay, Newfoundland -- which is actually also the hometown of model/actress Natasha Henstridge. The blonde babe served as Play.mate of the Month and Play.mate of the Year in 1982, during which time she was romantically linked with Hugh Hefner himself.

and you're out of here

Her work with the bunny magazine thrust Shannoninto the limelight, but while her acting career proved to have longevity, her stay at the Play.boy Mansion was cut short after Hugh discovered she was taking cocaine. While Play.mates may be free with their bodies, they are strictly forbidden from delving into drugs.

Shannon took more than drugs from her stay at the mansion though; it was there that she met her long-time boyfriend, KISS vocalist and bassist, Gene Simmons. Shannon and Gene met in 1984, and lived together until the late '90s.

kiss us shannon

Besides the requisite string of Play.boy videos Shannon appeared in, she began to land roles in B-movies and popular television shows. In 1982, Shannon was cast in the debut season of the primetime soap Falcon Crest.

Only appearing in the first season of the series, Shannon did the TV tour throughout the '80s, guest-starring in shows like Fantasy Island, The Dukes of Hazzard, Three's A Crowd, Highway to Heaven, The Hitchhiker, L.A. Law, and 21 Jump Street. Shannon was also a season regular on Days of Our Lives in 1985.

While this may look more like Traci Lords' resume, it isn't. Apart from these B-movie erotic thrillers, Shannon's most notable roles were in 1987's Dragnet, Steele Justice (starring Sela Ward), and Meatballs III, 1988's Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death, and 1999's Detroit Rock City.

you love me, you really love me!

While her movie titles are clearly not Oscar material, Shannon doesn't claim to be a great actress; she's more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-a-script woman.

In the '90s, she joined the bevy of buxom blondes in Baywatch with a guest-appearance, and appeared on Frasier, The Howard Stern Show, Married... with Children, Wings, Nash Bridges, Pamela Anderson's V.I.P., Get Real, and The Parkers.

While Shannon and Gene Simmons never got married, they spent close to 15 years living together with their 2 children, Nicholas and Sophie.